Comments and suggestions for my new ride...

Any input about my new ride is most welcome. I'm especially looking for help in skipping those parts unsuitable for Cyclocross, tips for parts better suitable for CC and for saving weight without paying much more money. I know the wheels are heavy but I have them allready and like them for easy cleaning after a ride I also have a set of Shimano 105 wheels with Mavic open 4CD wheels.

Looks like the makings of a sweet ride. I'm only commenting on the stuff I've used, inline.

Pedals Shimano PD-M959, 346gr.

I've owned the 959's, the time carbons, and now the crank bros eggbeaters (twin and triple ti). The 959's are dogs compared to the latter two. The ATAC's are solid and work great in mud, and have a very solid catch/release. The eggbeaters are my new favorite, with a feel very similar to the times (perhaps a bit less bear-clawish) while offering 4 sided entry and significantly lighter weight. The downside of the eggbeaters, imho, is that there is no platform if you are not clipped in, but I usually land latched into the pedals, so it's not an issue for me. The eggbeaters are amazing in mud.

Wheels Spinergy Rev-X, 1978gr.

See my research on the "Cross Wheels of Choice" thread. The rev-X's are sweet, but they do have a history that can be found on the net. You'll need to make this decision on your own, based on the wheel models, the history, and your riding style. I opted for a set of cosmic elite wheels. Similar weight, stronger track record. I have a set of 404's for the road. Also, depending on your intended use, american classic makes some fantastic wheels, and the CXP is the solid standby in the cross ranks.

Tires Ritchey SpeedMax Cross PRO (700x35c; black), 670gr.

I have this tire, and love it. I also started to ride the tufo prestige clincher tubulars, and they are amazing. You can run ****** low pressures. If you can tolerate the glue, all the cross gods seem to run tubulars. (lighter, satisfying the weight weenie side, and can be ridden flat if needed)

(I was scarred for life when my dad, showing me how to corner in a parking lot, rolled both tires off his raliegh. The glue was old, the day was hot, so it's not the tubulars fault, but my pea brain can't get over it.)

Stem Ritchey PRO O/S Road ahead (120mm; Ø 31.8mm; 6º), 170gr.

Handlebar Ritchey PRO O/S (44cm; Ø 31.8mm), 250gr.

I have these on my recently built bike (see the sexy cross bikes thread or deans website, my bike was their catalog bike ). Some of the guru's in the know recommended these as the best weight weenie bang for the buck, and also because of the way the bends are done on the uppers. I really like them. The bend at the top of the Ritchey bar makes the tops pretty wide/long, so it's a bit more like my mountain bike with the top mount levers installed.

[/b]Brakes[/b] Spooky, 156gr.

Considered these, would love to know which model and how they perform.

Saddle Selle Italia Flite Genuine Gel, 275gr.

I believe my saddle is this one (Selle Italia Flite Gel) - No complaints here, I've found my nethers to be particular, and the selle Italia flite saddles are on all my bikes.

Looks like a sweet ride. My parts selections were made for long distance endurance races, not specifically cross, but seem to work well in the cross conditions. One very good point made on this board, is that in a typical cross race, everyone ends up carting down 2 pounds of mud, so all the bikes get heavy. (Unless you have to race cross in the desert I guess!). Weight isn't as much of an issue as say, a road hill climb. (Even so, I found myself thinking about donating body parts/fluids for the sexy carbon cranks. I need therapy, since those parts are not necessary (or even cool!) at my level in cross!)

That's an incredible hot DEAN bike! I don't have the money for such titanium frames or the funky Alpha Q fork but I'm pleased with the Kinesis light frame as well, which comes for USD 320.00 + 60.00 extra for the black anodized finish. The Empella carbonfire fork comes for 279.00 and in a way looks a bit like those curved Pinarello road forks

These endurance races sound very interesting, can you give some more details about them? Wouldn't you need a suspention fork for such races?

I'll keep you updated about the performance of the Spooky's.

Also, for everybody who reads this thread, can somebody give me some input about my plan for the single 44 blade in front and the 12-25 in the rear? Here around Amsterdam it's flat, flatter, flattest so I figured that 44 x 12 gives enough speed and 44 x 25 is still good enough in mud or sand. Any input is welcome before I buy/build the wrong stuff

BTW, here's the Empella fork (I will get rid of the ugly red/blue decals)...

THe endurance races are typically mtb races, with courses so well groomed that I could drive a baby carriage over them. Seems that there isn't much of a premium on technical skills anymore.
70-100 miles on groomed fire roads, dirt roads, even paved sections. A little rolling resistance and weight makes a big difference over that distance.

I can't comment on the gearing, but it seems reasonable. You probably get real cross conditions. I end up in the dry most of the year.

The empella fork is super hot. I got a monster deal on my parts kit, otherwise I would have gotten the empella fork.

Do post a review of the spooky brakes. Also, there have been some posts on the tektro mini V's recently, which look like a potent stopper.

(I have V's which are working well at the moment, but I need to try them out after things are more worn, and the conditions are good and wet. I suspect the travel differences may cause problems, so I might need to swap those out).

Weight wise - there comes a point were it just don't matter. I just checked the flier for the local CX season opener and the "A" (longest) race is 60 minutes. At a race like that your rig could go plus or minus a few pounds and it will not figure into your final result... unless you're some top level dude... and if that's the case you'd already know that it's training that gets you the results.

Top gear is cool, and more power to you if you can swing it $, but it's training, not gear, that gets you the results.

Originally posted by HuckMeat THe endurance races are typically mtb races, with courses so well groomed that I could drive a baby carriage over them. Seems that there isn't much of a premium on technical skills anymore.
70-100 miles on groomed fire roads, dirt roads, even paved sections. A little rolling resistance and weight makes a big difference over that distance.

...Sounds like just the type of race for me. I'm not the "explosive" type and that's what you need for cyclocross. I'll have to find out if there are endurance races here in Holland and if they allow CC bikes. I intent to use my new CC bike all year round on all sorts of roads and trails. Still have to lose a lot of body weight but that's okay, I already lost 26 pounds from riding my bike 300 kilometers a week (commuting 45 km a day and doing 100 in the weekends).

I really like the idea of the single front. On the bike I'm currently assembling I was going to go single speed, but ended up bolting on some 8 speed Ultegra shifters I had. I don't have a front derailluer that fits and was debating about going 1x8, but wasn't sure how it'd work off-road.

Originally posted by JayT I really like the idea of the single front. On the bike I'm currently assembling I was going to go single speed, but ended up bolting on some 8 speed Ultegra shifters I had. I don't have a front derailluer that fits and was debating about going 1x8, but wasn't sure how it'd work off-road.

If you do it let me know how it works for you. JayT

...Make sure you have something to keep the chain on the front blade. I use the little Rohloff device for that, which is comparable to the Roox Chaindog. Because the chain tension is gone during shifting you otherwise have the risk of throwing off the chain.

You can also use the chainprotectors like those from Spooky, but that's quite expensive...